New Wyoming YMCA takes different spin on workout facility (photos)

WYOMING — It only takes a quick walk across the basketball courts at the Spartan Stores YMCA to discover this new facility is a bit different than the rest.

“We put pickleball lines on the basketball courts when we found out that there is a huge interest in this area in pickleball,” Bev Thiel, Spartan Stores YMCA executive director, said of the sport similar to ping pong and tennis, and played over a net.

It’s readiness to lure pickleball players is hardly this complex’s only difference, though.

The YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids scheduled a dedication ceremony Wednesday for the Spartan Stores branch, 5722 Metro Way SW in Wyoming. The public will get its first look at the $19 million facility Saturday during its 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. open house.

It was no coincidence that when officials broke ground in May 2010, they’d decided to build it on the Metro Health Village campus. The YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids has partnered with Metro Health, which has resulted in a Metro Health Sports Medicine Center inside the 96,000-square-foot complex.

“It’s a unique relationship that we have built with Metro Health,” Thiel said. “We will have a family doctor, physical therapist and an orthopedic surgeon working inside the Y. That’s one of the benefits of us being in the Metro Village.

“It will be a traditional medical facility, and it will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, so it is a neat partnership. We have seen YMCAs down South partner with hospitals, but we are the first one in this area to do it.”

If you go

• What: Grand Opening of the Spartan Stores YMCA

• Where: 5722 Metro Way SW in Wyoming

• When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday

Spartan Stores, Inc., donated a $3 million lead gift, and Thiel said the facility will offer traditional cardiovascular equipment, free weights, numerous youth and adult sports and health and wellness programs that other area YMCA’s provide. It features an indoor track and pool, as well as cycling and group exercise studios.

Adults and children will have an opportunity to work out together at the new YMCA.

“The wellness center on the second floor has an area where parents can work out right next to their kids,” Thiel said. “We will have a couple of Internet access bikes so children, starting at the age of 5, can ride the bike and play video games at the same time. They are working out and not even realizing what they are doing. They will have to keep pedaling to play the game.

“There also is a play space floor for kids where we have different lights lighting up, and they follow them. This allows them to get a good cardiovascular workout. We have a family fun pool, too, with zero depth. So there is lots of place to splash around.”

More than 500 memberships have already been sold, according to Thiel. She said memberships also can be purchased on Saturday.

“We have been in the building process a little bit over a year, and this is an exciting week,” Thiel said. “We believe this is a reflection of what our community would like to see in the Y.”